Gwyneth Paltrow's comments in which she compared - in a figurative fashion - the trials of war to coping with the onslaught of comments made by internet trolls. Cindy McCain, wife of US Senator John McCain, rushed to the defence of the US troops and claimed Paltrow "is a joke" on Twitter.
Perhaps making comments in which you compare the traumas of celebrity with being enrolled in the armed forces isn't the best idea around Memorial Day. But Gwyneth Paltrow wasn't remotely perturbed and blundered through a minefield (sorry Mrs McCain) of press questions at a technology conference held on Monday (27th May). The 41-year-old actress compared the constant threat of internet trolls with the prospect of going to war.
Gwyneth Paltrow compared her enduring troll comments to being at war.
Paltrow was describing the difficulties of seeing negative comments and deliberately hurtful remarks posted online, especially as she is such a high profile figure. The Iron Man actress told the assembled press, as Re-Code reports, how the barrage of comments was "almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing, and then something is defined out of it."
Read More: Gwyneth Paltow Misses The Point, Responds To Critics On GOOP: 'Mommy Wars'.
Paltrow was evidently exaggerating and using a semantic field of words which many of us use on a day to day basis. When someone you dislike intensely does something particularly hurtful you may exclaim melodramatically "this means war!" Or, in another example of hyperbole, when the common phrase "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" is used, one is not automatically appalled as the likelihood of it occurring is minimal. Much as how a full scale war between work colleagues, family or housemates is equally unlikely.
Cindy McCain struggles with hyperbole?
Unfortunately, Cindy McCain appears to struggle with the concept of exaggeration or metaphor. The wife of former Republican presidential nominee John McCain took umbrage with Paltrow's comments and made her opinions on the actress known via Twitter. After posting the link to the website which had recorded Paltrow's comments, McCain posted again writing "Gwyneth Paltrow is a joke. Her life is like taking bullets for a soldier. What a joke!"
Read More: Gwyneth Paltrow: 'We Must End Online Hate'.
Of course, McCain couldn't simply be shocked for something as remote as a simple principle but added comments about her own two beloved children in the same tweet. Her two sons are -surprise, surprise - serving in the US army. McCain continued her mini rant in another tweet stating "Perhaps Gwyneth Paltrow should go out on patrol with some soldiers. Kind of like a Red Carpet in her mind I guess!"
On the whole, yes Paltrow is slightly out of touch and yes, she perhaps used an insensitive reference but did McCain really believe Paltrow was truly comparing her life to that of a soldier? And surely by making an issue out of it McCain is diverting attention away from the bravery of the military on to someone she considers "a joke".
Gweneth Paltrow is a joke. Her life is like taking bullets for a soldier. What a joke! My 2 sons serving in the military should talk to her.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) May 29, 2014
Perhaps Gweneth Paltrow should go out on patrol with some soldiers. Kind of like a Red Carpet in her mind I guess!
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) May 29, 2014
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